Bellso and her husband, Dave, founded the business in 2006 and then began franchising it. They operated two stores: the flagship in Cicero and another in Towne Center at Fayetteville, which closed in August.

Make & Take was created at the start of a then-new trend in food retailing: Storefronts that allow customers to create meals using ingredients provided by the store, and in the store's kitchens.

But the popularity of Make & Take and similar chains nationwide started to wane in late 2007 as customers began favoring buying ready-made meals. It changed the business model.

Make & Take, which had grown to nearly two dozen stores in several states through franchising, started to see some of those franchises fail and close.